Comer v. Comer

16 Pa. D. & C.3d 627, 1979 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedJune 11, 1979
Docketno. 2517
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 627 (Comer v. Comer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Comer v. Comer, 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 627, 1979 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1979).

Opinion

CANUSO, J.,

Plaintiff Marie . Comer filed this action in equity against defendant, John Comer to enforce a separation agreement entered into by the parties in January 1973. Plaintiff alleges a failure on the part of defendant to make payments to her in in accordance with the said agreement and to enter into a new agreement to extend the original agreement.

Defendant filed an answer and new matter denying liability to which plaintiff duly replied.

After a careful consideration of the testimony in the light of present circumstances we make the following

[628]*628FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff and defendant were married on February 2, 1952 and the marriage between them still subsists.

2. No children were born of this marriage.

3. The parties separated in November of 1972 and in January of 1973 they entered into a written agreement a copy of which is attached to plaintiff’s complaint as Exhibit “A”.

4. The agreement provides in pertinent parts as follows:

“Fifth:

Husband agrees to pay to wife as alimony the sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per month, a pro rata payment to be made at the execution of this agreement, and next payment due and payable to wife February 1, 1973, and monthly after. All support payments shall terminate upon death or remarriage of wife, whichever first occurs. It is further understood and agreed that the alimony of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per month will be for a five-year period of time only, and upon the expiration of the said five year period of time, the parties will enter into a new Agreement, depending upon their then circumstances as to further payment of support or alimony for wife. It is specifically understood and agreed that these weekly payments shall be deducted by husband as alimony on his Federal Tax returns and shall be included by wife as a receipt of alimony on her Federal Tax returns. In the event that any future regulation of the Board of Internal Revenue precludes the inclusion of alimony as a proper deduction as set forth in the present existing Internal Revenue Code, husband’s obligation hereunder shall be modified. [629]*629Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, husband agrees to reimburse wife one-half (V2) of all sums paid by reason of the inclusion of the said payments in her Federal Tax return, not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00).

“Seventh:

It is the intention of the parties that all jointly owned assets, other than household furnishings, but including stocks, bonds, savings accounts, and cash on hand in the sum of approximately Twenty-six Thousand Dollars ($26,000.00) which, after a deduction for moving expenses in the approximate sum of Nine Hundred Dollars ($900.00), shall be equally divided between the parties. Accordingly, the parties shall attach hereto what is referred to as ‘Exhibit A’ which will become an integral part of this Agreement, a list of all personal securities and cash owned by the parties, and a division of the assets shall be made as follows:

Cash: All cash will be divided evenly between the parties.

Stocks and Bonds: All stocks and bonds jointly owned shall be divided between the parties by each of the parties hereto endorsing for the other one-half (V2) of the amount of stocks or bonds owned by them as tenants by the entireties.

5. Defendant made payments of $300 each for the first 27 months only and has failed to make any payments for the succeeding 33 months for a total due and owing of $9,900.

6. Defendant has failed to pay any of plaintiff’s tax liability at the rate of $300 per year or a total due and owing of $1,500 for five years.

7. The jointly owned assets, including stocks, bonds, savings accounts and cash, but excluding the household furnishings, were distributed in ac[630]*630cordance with the terms of the agreement and therefore nothing is due and owing to defendant by plaintiff.

8. The household furnishings, excluded from the terms of the agreement, were divided pursuant to the understanding of the parties and therefore defendant is not entitled to any credit.

9. Although the five year term of their agreement has expired the parties have failed to enter into a new agreement as provided therein.”

DISCUSSION

Defendant, although admitting the validity and enforceability of the agreement, contends that plaintiff breached the agreement by failing to equally divide a jointly owned savings account the parties had at Philadelphia National Bank and that she appropriated to her own use, and to his exclusion, all items of household furniture, as a result of which defendant is entitled to a credit and, further, that the provision of the agreement providing for the parties to enter a new agreement at the end of a five year period is unenforceable. We disagree with these contentions.

As to the jointly owned savings account plaintiff testified that upon separation she gave defendant $ 13,000 which represented one-half of the proceeds of this account. Defendant, however, claims there was a balance of over $32,000 in this account and therefore his interest was at least $16,000 and that he is entitled to a credit for the difference.

Plaintiff’s explanation, which this court finds credible, is that although this account did contain in excess of $32,000 at one time, she deducted for certain expenses as provided by their written agreement. Plaintiff deducted $900 for her moving [631]*631expenses and also approximately $3,000 to pay for an automobile that she purchased with the consent and approval of defendant. She also claimed that each had withdrawn $1,000 from the account.

Although there might be some mathematical discrepancy in plaintiff’s explanation, we find that defendant’s is less convincing and that the best evidence as to the true amount was that which was set forth in paragraph “Seventh” of their agreement. It was clearly stated to be approximately $26,000.

The same could be said regarding the division of the household furnishings. These items were specifically excluded from the separation agreement and plaintiff testified that the parties agreed that plaintiff would take what she needed and the remainder would be made available to defendant. However, defendant repeatedly told plaintiff he did not want any of the furniture and, after taking what she needed, plaintiff sold the remainder for $300, half of which she gave to defendant. Although defendant subsequently saw plaintiff, he made no demands or complaints regarding this distribution.

Defendant never complained to plaintiff about any shortages as to the division of their assets. Instead, he substantially complied with the provisions of the agreement by making payments for the first 27 months and, according to his testimony, only ceased paying because he saw plaintiff in the company of another man. It was only after this incident and in these proceedings did he first claim credit for the alleged discrepancy in the bank account and for furnishings he did not receive. Although defendant explained that plaintiff handled all of the parties’ financial matters and that he was unaware of the amount involved, we find that he had full knowledge of what occurred. Defendant is an accountant and he impressed this court as an [632]*632intelligent person.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McGee v. McGee
115 A.2d 409 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 Pa. D. & C.3d 627, 1979 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/comer-v-comer-pactcomplphilad-1979.